USA Health expands burn division with addition of trauma and burn surgeon

Kevin Slaughter, M.D., has joined USA Health after completing fellowships in surgical critical care and burn critical care at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. He becomes one of four burn surgeons on staff at University Hospital’s Arnold Luterman Regional Burn Center, the only burn center of its kind along the upper Gulf Coast.

“I will treat all traumatic and emergent surgical diseases, as well as pediatric and adult burn injuries that are treated with soft tissue excisions, skin substitutes, and skin grafting,” said Slaughter, who holds a faculty appointment as assistant professor of surgery at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine.

A Texas native, Slaughter said he was drawn to the field of surgical critical care by its team-based approach to caring for patients with complex needs in the surgical and burn intensive care units. “As an academic health system, USA Health has the facilities and resources with the Level 1 trauma center and burn center that I was looking for in my career,” he said. “There are opportunities to be involved in research, surgical education, and community outreach.”

Slaughter’s interest in research focuses on clinical outcomes in burn surgery with skin substitutes, acute burn care, and enzymatic debridement. “There is a trend in burn surgery involving new products being used to optimize wound healing and functional outcomes with skin grafts,” he said. “This is an exciting time to look at these products and see how they can improve patients’ lives during the acute phase of treatment and long-term quality of life after they are discharged.”

Slaughter earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio. He completed an internship and general surgery residency at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he was awarded the McSwain Trauma Resident of the Year Award and the Surgery Clinical Excellence Award. He also was twice nominated for an Owl Award for Best Surgical Resident, presented by the Owl Club, a service organization that fosters improved relationships among the medical student body and faculty.

He completed fellowships in surgical critical care and burn critical care at the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas, during which he received the Brett Arnoldo Teaching Fellow of the Year Award.

Slaughter is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery and the American Burn Association.